POLICY: Advocates say while proposed energy bills in Michigan call for increasing the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 15 percent, they still would limit access to the market for independent producers and self-generating customers. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO:
• Ohio lawmakers may advance at least one bill this week that would effectively continue the state’s “freeze” on clean energy standards by making them voluntary goals. (Midwest Energy News)
• A slimmed-down version of a major energy bill in Illinois is not getting support from some key business groups. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

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GRID: The Illinois Supreme Court agrees to hear a dispute over the Rock Island Clean Line transmission project, a $2 billion plan to move wind energy from the Great Plains to eastern states. (EnergyWire)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Ohio utility revises an ongoing rate plan to include funding for an electric vehicle charging station network, as well as microgrids and energy efficiency programs. (Columbus Dispatch)

COAL:
• A new report says a bill to protect the health benefits for retired coal miners and their families would save money over the next decade by hiking customs fees on imported goods. (Associated Press)
• After an Indiana coal plant is converted to natural gas, advocates want the state to take the lead in coal ash cleanup plans. (NUVO)

PIPELINES:
• North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple issues an executive order to expel Dakota Access protesters from federal land. (Reuters)
• A federal class action lawsuit is filed alleging law enforcement used excessive force against protesters earlier this month. (Associated Press)

OIL-BY-RAIL: Federal regulators may consider new limits on oil volatility in tanker cars to avoid dangerous explosions. (DeSmog Blog)

RENEWABLES: Students at Michigan State University want the administration to commit to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. (Lansing State Journal)

OIL AND GAS:
• Officials say a $500 million natural gas plant under construction in Ohio will be one of the cleanest-burning and most efficient plants in the country. (Hamilton Journal-News)
• Activists deliver a petition to Washington D.C. opposing plans to open parcels of a national forest in Ohio to fracking. (Athens Post)

COMMENTARY:
• The good, the bad and the ugly of Michigan’s proposed energy policy overhaul. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Michigan lawmakers should move to pass comprehensive energy bills and not “wait to see what happens” under a Trump administration. (Detroit News)
• As it moves to continue closing coal plants, Michigan is “a perfect example of why Trump will struggle” to bring the industry back. (Vox)
• Illinois lawmakers shouldn’t pick winners and losers with the latest version of a proposed energy bill. (Chicago Tribune)